During
the mid-1870s, John Morrissey (pictured here) battled John Kelly for
control of the Democratic Party in New York City.In 1872, Kelly succeeded William Tweed as the “reform” boss
of the Tammany Hall political machine after the latter was ousted and
jailed on corruption charges. In 1875, Morrissey broke with Kelly
and Tammany Hall to form his own political machine, which would become
known as Irving Hall.

Morrissey
was a gambling house proprietor, former prizefighter (note his broken
nose), and former congressman. His closely cropped hair inspired Harper's
Weekly to nickname his faction the "short-hairs" in 1875,
while associating his rivals with the exclusive Manhattan Club and
labeling them "swallow-tails" after their formal evening tail
coats. The term "short-hair" did not stick, however, and
it was Morrissey's Irving Hall faction that became known as the
"swallowtails." Harper's
Weekly, though,
continued to link Morrissey with Tammany Hall in 1876 in order to a tar
his ally, Democratic presidential nominee Samuel Tilden, with the
corruption of Tammany Hall through guilt by association.

Morrissey
was born in Ireland in 1831 and immigrated as a young child with his
family to Troy, New York, where as a youth he worked as a factory
laborer and joined a street gang. His prowess in gang fights
motivated him to move to New York City in 1849 and pursue a career as a
professional prizefighter. He was taken under the wing of Isaiah
Rynders, a Tammany Hall politician, who made Morrissey a
"shoulder-hitter" (a fighter who enforced the will of a
political boss by intimidation or violence).Morrissey was nicknamed “Old Smoke” after a saloon brawl in
which he and his opponent knocked over a stove and Morrissey was pinned
over the coals, with smoke from his smoldering clothes permeating the
room.Morrissey persevered
to win the fight.

In
1851, Morrissey journeyed to California, where he won a lot of money at
gambling and first appeared as a professional prizefighter, earning a
$4,000 purse and $1,000 from a side bet.He was unsuccessful, though, in his attempt to conquer the
gold-rich Queen Charlotte Islands, off the coast of British Columbia,
with an armed schooner and a crew of hoodlums.Back in New York in 1853, Morrissey became the American boxing
champion by defeating "Yankee" Sullivan in 37 rounds.(At the time, prizefights
were bare-knuckle events, with rounds lasting until one man fell down,
and the match ending only when one boxer could not return on his feet to
the center of the ring.)

Working
again for Tammany Hall, Morrissey organized a gang of shoulder-hitters
who primarily battled Bill Poole’s American Party (Know-Nothing) gang.In July 1854, Poole defeated Morrissey in a boxing match.Street fights between the two gangs continued, resulting in the
deaths of several members, including Poole in March 1855.Morrissey was charged with the murder, but released.In a well-publicized prizefight in October 1858, Morrissey
defeated John “Benicia Boy” Heenan at Long Point, Canada, before a
crowd of 2,000, and pocketed $5,000 from a side bet.After the Heenan bout, Morrissey retired from the boxing ring as
the champion.

Morrissey
became the owner of several successful saloons and gambling houses,
paying the police to ignore his illegal gambling operations, and
reportedly earning a million-dollar profit within five years.He invested his money in real estate and in 1863 opened the
Saratoga Springs racing track, which helped revitalize the sport in the
Civil War North.He also
turned his attention to politics in a more serious way.In 1866, he was elected as a Democrat to the first of two terms
in Congress (1867-1871).

In
early 1870, before revelations of Tweed Ring corruption became public,
Morrissey joined a faction called the Young Democracy that revolted
against Boss Tweed's authoritarian rule. Tweed, however, learned
of their plot to unseat him as head of Tammany Hall, and used policemen
to prevent Young Democracy members from entering the building on the
night of their planned coup. The rebel organization quickly
folded, and Morrissey did not seek reelection to Congress.

In
1874, Morrissey questioned the wisdom of Tammany Hall's selection of
William Wickham as the Democratic mayoral candidate. Boss Kelly
attempted to appease Morrissey by backing his friend, James Hayes, for
the office of city register. When Hayes lost the race, he and
Morrissey became furious when Hayes's $15,000 assessment to Tammany Hall
(a fee patronage employees paid to their sponsoring party) was not
returned and he was not appointed to another government position.
Morrissey began badmouthing Kelly, claiming he had lost touch with
ordinary voters, particularly Irish Americans, a powerful bloc in New
York City's Democratic Party.

In
early 1875, Morrissey tried to visit Wickham, now the new mayor, at City
Hall, but was barred from entry because he lacked a calling card.
An irritated Morrissey sarcastically replied, "Well, give my
compliments to His Honor Mayor Wickham and ask him to tell 'Billy'
Wickham that when John Morrissey has time to put on French airs, he may
call again." Morrissey returned a few days later dressed in
formal attire--swallowtail coat, white kid gloves, and patent leather
shoes--and carrying a large book. He informed a curious friend,
"I've
just bought a French dictionary to help me talk to our dandy Mayor.
I'm going in full dress to make a call, for that is now the style at the
Hotel Wickham. No Irish need apply now." This time,
Mayor Wickham welcomed him warmly, apologizing for the previous
misunderstanding.

Kelly,
however, was not amused, and took Morrissey's behavior as a personal
affront. The boss directed Tammany Hall's Committee on Discipline,
a usually inactive board, to investigate Morrissey (notice the poster in
the cartoon). Later that summer, the committee determined that
party discipline was weak in Morrissey's district and that he had, in
fact, been working against the interests of Tammany Hall. Upon
Kelly's recommendation, Morrissey was ejected from the organization.

Refusing
to accept defeat, Morrissey founded a rival machine, the Irving Hall
Democracy, which soon attracted Tilden and other major (and often
wealthy) New York Democrats dissatisfied with Tammany Hall.
Morrissey also ran in 1875 for a seat in the New York State Legislature,
overpowering his Tammany Hall opponent to win the right to represent
Boss Tweed's old district. Critics charged that he could only have
been elected in such a safe precinct, so in 1877 he ran and won in
another district, upsetting the venerable Tammany politician, August
Schell. In May 1878, only a few months into his second legislative
term, Morrissey died. Irving Hall, however, continued to prosper
for several years as the Democratic rival to Tammany Hall.